Written by Regina Ender
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple chronicles the devastating abuse of a Georgia woman in the early 1900s. Adapted into a musical in 2005, with a Broadway revival in 2015, the Broadway musical displays an uplifting message of hope, resilience, and faith in the face of extreme adversity. Telling the coming-of-age story of Celie, forced to marry an abusive husband, Mister, we follow her journey to find the inner strength to stand tall and love herself as she really is.
In this Tony Award-winning revival production, APU alumnus Darnell Abraham is able to help tell this story in his primary starring role as Celie’s son, Adam, taken away from her at birth, but returning in the second act as a source of inspiration to Celie. Abraham also portrays several ensemble roles throughout the show, and is the understudy for the leading male role, Mister.
While the story is propelled forward by the unimaginable abuse Celie suffers, it also challenges audiences to empathize with Mister and understand that he is abusive because of his own personal trauma from his father.
“Underneath all of that is a character who wants to be wanted. He doesn’t know how to love because he has such a twisted view on love,” Abraham said. “It’s been really interesting trying to connect with that character because that’s not who I am.”
The show’s intensity and heaviness tug at the audience’s heartstrings without straying away from serious and often uncomfortable moments, Abraham said.
“It’s real life happening on stage,” he said. “There are people who go to the theater to escape, but we have the ability to connect with them.”
The actor said that especially in light of the #MeToo movement, it is an honor to be in a production that tells a story that illuminates the injustices of sexual assault and sheds light on victims’ stories and triumphs.
Ultimately, the show highlights Celie’s redemption after a lifetime of sorrow, sharing the uplifting message that the Lord was with her all along, despite her difficulties.
“We realize that God never left her and he was with her every step of the way,” Abraham said.
The musical features an all African-American cast, highlighting Celie and several other women in the starring roles. Abraham said he and the other male actors have the chance to step aside and support the strong female cast taking center stage.
“It’s gives us the opportunity to play a supporting role in which a black woman is front and center,” he said. “None of that would be possible if the men on that stage weren’t playing our part in supporting her on her journey.”
Among the many women on the team, Abraham’s wife Wanda, also a fellow APU alumna, is serving as the company’s merchandise manager. The couple’s time on the road together has been one of the highlights of the tour for Abraham.
“It’s really cool to get to share this experience and the different cities and sites,” he said. “That has really been a blessing. It’s been a really special chapter for us.”
The production has been on tour since September of 2017 and is currently on its last leg at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. After a short break, the cast will return to the stage in the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey to open up the venue’s season.
